5/2/2007 8:01:00 AM Hillsboro soldier dies in Iraq Pvt. Zachary Gullett was a 2004 HHS graduate, serving with the Multi-National Force-Iraq
Pvt. ZACHARY GULLETT
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U.S. Army Pvt. Zachary Gullett is survived by his parents, Mike and Connie Gullett of Hillsboro; a brother, Benjamin Gullett, of Hillsboro; and a half-brother, Alan Gullett, of Beavercreek. For those wishing to express condolences or to assist the family at this time, please call (937) 763-3092.
A Hillsboro area soldier has died while serving in Iraq, his family said Tuesday afternoon.
Zachary Gullett, 20, a private first class with C Company 787 Military Police Battalion, serving with Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNC-I) died Tuesday morning due to non-combat-related causes, the family was told when military officers visited their Rocky Fork Lake area home.
Gullett reportedly collapsed during exercises, lost consciousness, and died.
Details on the cause of death were not immediately available.
Gullett, a 2004 Hillsboro High School graduate, had been injured while on a March 17 patrol south of Baghdad.
As reported in The Times-Gazette on March 21, Gullett suffered a concussion in the attack that injured two other soldiers.
Gullett only recently returned to Iraq, after spending time at home with his parents, Mike and Connie Gullett, of the Rocky Fork Lake area.
"He was doing calisthenics and collapsed," the family said.
He had been in Iraq less than a week when he collapsed.
Gullett had been stationed in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. He was deployed Sept. 16, 2006 for a 12-month tour of duty.
He was sworn into service with the U.S. Army on Feb. 23, 2006 in Columbus. He began his military training March 17, 2006 and graduated from One Station Unit Training on Aug. 9, 2006.
Prior to being deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Gullett had been stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., with the 984th MP Company. He was promoted to private second class on Aug. 23, 2006 and left the U.S. for Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq on Sept. 16 last year.
Additional information on Gullett's death has not been released by the United States Central Command.
Pvt. Gullett is the son of Mike and Connie Gullett of Hillsboro; the grandson of Eleanor and the late Clarence (Gene) Helterbrand of Hillsboro and the late George and Betty Gullett of Portsmouth. He is also survived by a brother, Benjamin Gullett, of Hillsboro; and a half-brother, Alan Gullett, of Beavercreek.
Benjamin Gullett said that his brother had always wanted to serve his community, and that he had wanted to be a police officer before joining the armed services.
"We didn't know anything officially until (Tuesday) evening," Benjamin Gullett told The Times-Gazette. "Two uniformed soldiers came to notify us that the Secretary of the Army expressed his condolences. We were shocked."
The close-knit family is pulling together to cope with the loss. Benjamin Gullett said family had driven in to stay with his parents.
When asked how the community could help, he said it was too soon to know what his family needed.
"We just don't know very much right now," he said. "Our family can use everyone's thoughts and prayers."
• The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of more than 3,350 members of the military, including the recent death of another Ohio soldier. Army Sgt. Norman Tollett, 30, of Elyria, died last week in Baghdad. His father, David Tollett, learned of the death Sunday when military officers visited his home.
Norman Tollett entered the military after visiting the World Trade Center site in New York and learning that former NFL player Pat Tillman, killed in Afghanistan in 2004, had said he joined the Army to become part of a larger team, his father said.
Tollett joined the military in August 2003 and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in the 82nd Airborne Division.
